The office of fire marshal of the city is hereby created as an office independent of other departments. The fire marshal is appointed by the mayor with the consent of the city council, and the mayor shall have general supervision of the fire marshal. In addition to the duties assigned to the fire marshal by this article, the fire marshal shall perform duties assigned by the mayor or ordinance of the city council.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The person appointed as fire marshal shall be a state commissioned peace officer and shall meet all of the qualifications required for the position by state law.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
(a) 
In the performance of his duties, the fire marshal shall:
(1) 
Investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of every fire, incident of arson, and suspected arson occurring within the city by which property is damaged;
(2) 
Begin each investigation within 24 hours of the occurrence of the fire;
(3) 
Obtain sworn written statements from all persons with knowledge relevant to the cause of a fire; and
(4) 
When evidence is sufficient to charge a person with the crime of arson, prepare the case for presenting to the district attorney for prosecution.
(b) 
The fire department or police department shall maintain the site of a fire in a secure condition until the fire marshal arrives at the site to begin the investigation.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The fire marshal has the authority to:
(1) 
Administer oaths to persons giving testimony;
(2) 
Summon witnesses to testify in relation to the investigation of a fire;
(3) 
Require the production of books and records pertinent to the investigation of a fire;
(4) 
Separate witnesses and keep them apart from each other until they have been questioned;
(5) 
Maintain the confidentially of an investigation until its completion;
(6) 
Exclude from the place of the investigation, persons not needed for the investigation; and
(7) 
Enter a building or premises in the city at which a fire is in progress or has occurred and is under the control of law enforcement or fire service officials, to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of the fire. (If control of the building or premises has been relinquished to the owner or occupant, entry must be obtained in accordance with section 5.03.007.)
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
(a) 
A person commits an offense if, as a witness summoned by the fire marshal, the person:
(1) 
Refuses to be sworn;
(2) 
Refuses to appear or testify;
(3) 
Disobeys a lawful order of the fire marshal;
(4) 
Fails or refuses to produce a book, paper, or document relating to any matter under investigation; or
(5) 
Engages in contemptuous conduct during any of the proceedings of the fire marshal in the matter of an investigation authorized by this article;
(b) 
A person who commits an offense under this section is guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The fire marshal shall inspect, as often as necessary, buildings and premises for the purpose of ascertaining and causing to be corrected:
(1) 
Any condition which would reasonably tend to cause fire or contribute to its spread; or
(2) 
Any violation of the fire code of the city or other law or standard affecting fire safety.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
(a) 
Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this article or the fire code of the city, or whenever the fire marshal has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building or upon any premises a condition which makes the building or premises unsafe, the fire marshal shall first present proper credentials and request entry. If the building or premises is unoccupied, the fire marshal shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having control, and request entry.
(b) 
If the occupant or owner denies entry, the fire marshal is authorized to obtain an administrative search warrant or other remedy provided by law to secure entry.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The fire marshal shall keep records of all fires, including, but not limited to facts, statistics, circumstances, origin of the fires, and the amount of loss as determined by the investigation. The fire marshal shall report to the state fire marshal on each fire occurring in the city and on the existence of hazardous conditions in the city.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The fire marshal shall use pertinent and timely facts relating to fires to develop educational programs and disseminate materials necessary to effectively educate the public regarding methods of fire prevention and safety.
(Ordinance 520 adopted 8/11/98)
The city manager may appoint, upon the recommendation of the fire marshal, and the consent of city council, an assistant fire marshal to perform the fire marshal’s duties in the fire marshal’s absence. The assistant fire marshal shall have the same authority as the fire marshal with respect to inspections and fire investigations.
(Ordinance 1239-2019, sec. 32, adopted 8/13/19)